Here it starts

Give with humility and take with gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:54:00 +0000

I read this article in speaking tree TOI and its well written .. solves most of the fight that people go through while taking...and they keep thinking how will you give back..

I am posting it here also because i remember not so long ago over a dinner , i was talking about the same and one of my Professors had narrated me a story about how he had lost his wallet at a ice hockey game and there was gentleman who called him up and told him about his wallet and met him at some place to return it. At that time this prof of mine thought of rewarding him with some money or do something for him and the man replied. No thanks may be you can remember this help some one else who might need it.

Since then this Prof always remember this man and helps people whenever he can ...

Here is the article by Jyoti Desai

On the verge of crying, I could barely express my gratitude. Saying a simple ‘thank you’ did not seem adequate for the effort taken by a friendin trying to get me a job in a vulnerable phase in my life. And so, thereafter, I must have tried to express my thanks many times over till she simply smiled and said: “It is your time to take.”

Taken aback by the reply I perhaps further complimented her on her goodness, not understanding the full import of the words ‘your time to take’. Life got busy and we lost touch. But somewhere inside me the words ‘a time to take’ sat patiently waiting their turn to play a part in my life. The going was good. I was now in a position to help others. My natural response to all the words of gratitude that were showered on me remained, ‘it is all right, it is just your time to take’.

There is a time to take and there is a time to give. Golden words often quoted, and yet we only want to give, we would rather not take. The puzzled looks I have received when I have gently said ‘it is a time to take’ set me thinking. What is so loaded in the words ‘a time to take’?

Perhaps it is to do with our upbringing. Instilled in us is this value about not taking – it is a favour, about managing alone even in the most difficult of times without seeking support. And yet, taking is one of the most natural acts carried out by each of us since the time we are conceived.

We take life’s sustenance from our mothers, we take love from our siblings, we take knowledge from our teachers, we take companionship from our friends, we take affection from our pets, we take food from the earth, we take warmth from the sun and that is an endless list. And yet we feel no obligation to all these givers, because we are conditioned to view them as normal life situations.

Our minds are full of suspicion, and more so when we are at the receiving end. The mind works at a furious pace on the implications of taking. One of the fears is of having to return the favour immediately or at some point of time in the future, and the guilt of ingratitude if we are not able to do so. But does it always have to work in that manner? Perplexing, as it may seem, there is a far more complicated system at play which is difficult to decode. Seers therefore stress on abiding by the fundamental principle of giving with humility and taking with gratitude – a simple way to resolving confusing moments in this endless cycle of take and give.

Every one of us, in our lifetime, experiences moments when we give on impulse. We are stirred to give to causes, beggars, friends, strangers. Do these people give us something in return? Do we expect them to? No, but in doing so we experience a strange calm. And when we as takers are full of sadness and shame, are we forgetting to recognise the moment of calm being experienced by the giver?

In this endless game of take and give we should just play along, taking and giving as life asks us to, enjoying the gifts we take and give, without grudging our ‘misfortune’ for being takers, not feeling lesser for having taken or superior for having given.

amma says

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:01:00 +0000

We may do a hundred things right, but for one wrong act people disown us. Yet even after a hundred wrongs, God accepts us for one right action. Therefore, children, be bound only to God.--amma

four time zones for a family !

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:41:00 +0000

Something nice strike to me while talking on skype ..

How is life these days ..

Members of the family at four different time zone

Its 1.40 pm here ...

For my sweetheart its 2.40 pm

For my daddy dear its 2.40 am

and its 1.10 am for my sweethearts at home ...

Though the part which is still good is all were talking to each other at the same time ...

Love all ...and pray for love and peace to keep growing ...

Some quotations on Love.....

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:28:00 +0000

selected quotations...

To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.
Anne-Sophie Swetchine

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
David Viscott

He who is in love is wise and is becoming wiser, sees newly every time he looks at the object beloved, drawing from it with his eyes and his mind those virtues which it possesses.
Ralph Waldo


Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves. Blaise Pascal

Honesty is the only way with anyone, when you'll be so close as to be living inside each other's skins.
Lois McMaster Bujold

Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.
Alan Watts

Such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to suspicion,
however unreasonable; always requiring new assurances from the object of its interest.
Ann Radcliffe

Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.

Anton Chekhov

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Bertrand Russell

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl Jung

There's a lot to be said for self-delusionment when it comes to matters of the heart.

One's first love is always perfect until one meets one's second love.
Elizabeth Aston

All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon sand.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Love is everything it's cracked up to be…It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.
Erica Jong

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.
Friedrich Nietzsche

What else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives, acts, and experiences otherwise than we do…?
Friedrich Nietzsche

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
H. L. Mencken

Sometimes when you look back on a situation, you realize it wasn't all you thought it was. A beautiful girl walked into your life. You fell in love. Or did you? Maybe it was only a childish infatuation, or maybe just a brief moment of vanity.
Henry Bromel

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
Henry David Thoreau

Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds.
Hugh Elliott

Passion makes the world go round. Love just makes it a safer place.
Ice T

Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.
Iris Murdoch

We can only learn to love by loving.
Iris Murdoch

"Padaravindhangal" -- offering at amma's feet

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:04:00 +0000

"Padaravindhangal"

Padaravindhangal panindhen Amma
Adharam ne endru arinthen Amma
Chedaram illamal chezhippai thandhu
Kadhoram inmozhiyal kavalai thirppai

Mother, I bow to Your feet. I have realized that You are the foundation of my life.
Give me the wealth that can never be depleted. Whisper sweetly in my ear
and end my sorrows.

***

Amma endrazhaikkum un kuzhanthaikku inghe
Arulandri verethuvum vendam Amma
Summa ni inimelum irunthu vital
Pazhi yedhum yenakkalla unakke Amma

O Mother, wanting nothing except Your Grace,
this child of Yours is calling O Amma! Amma!
If You still remain silent then remember, Mother, You will be the One to blame, not I
***

Selvangal yeralam irunthalum un
Arul selvam illamal nargathi undo
Inbathil pangerka evarum varuvay
Ennalum thuyar thirka niye varuvay

Though we may have much worldly wealth,
could we ever attain the one true end without the wealth of Your Grace?
There are always many to share in our happiness,
but You are always the One who removes my sorrow.
***

Ellam un vilayadal ena arinthalum
Eno yen manathil innum nimmadhi illai
Thunbam vrumbhothum maravathunnai
Manamara potrum nal ullam vendum

I know that all this is but Your play and yet my mind knows no peace.
Please bestow upon me a mind that remembers and glorifies
You even when suffering comes.
***

The Tamil bhajan "Paatara Vintengal Papinthen Amma" sung by Amma and Her disciples. From the cd "Tamil Bhajans" (2002)

nice sms from my daddy

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Life is a great travel trip ...

Problem is that it doesn't come with a map ...

We have to search our own ways to reach the destination ...

Enjoy as it comes !!!

amma says ..

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:54:00 +0000

In order to really know, one should be humble. The ego and real knowledge are not compatible. Humility is the sign of true knowledge.

3-4-5 july at westin lombard Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:26:00 +0000

With Amma ... finally saw her after a year :)

Its thursday night and reminds me of last thursday when my mind was stormed with so many things.. random thoughts .. emotions .. all time high !

finally things subsided one by one and all became clear and simple.

Visited chicago to meet amma and it was a different world for a weekend ... my heart longs for more but have to see that peaceful world within which exists in all ...

Mata rani ki jai

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Khol darwaza (open the door)

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 04:04:00 +0000

A strange thing happened today.. I had a strange feeling through out the day .. some sort of deep fear couldn't figure out what it was ...

finally i found time to open the doors or may be the doors were openned to me ...
after i went through little discomfort in my so very busy busy day... it was like a magnetic pull ... I had to get asign.. an assurance that all is fine .. and i went to amma's site .. The random pic on the amritapuri.org was displaying amma hugging someone and showing a thumbs up sign !!!

All is fine my child thats what my mother was telling me .. assuring me ...

I read it few days back that God is always standing outside our door .. waiting for us to call out for him ...and here i am ... this soul who forgets to call out.... but somewhere due to some karmas i donno what.. My mother calls me and even opens the doors for me too

how wonderful and as if this was not enough.. one of my friends at amma's calls me and narrates amma's stories and everytime something kept happenning and we kept calling and talk abt our mother and i listen to this wonderful bhajan called " Khol Dawaza"

I absolutely love it and i am looking forward to hear the same from the goddess itself.

All this just makes me humble, leaves me with a heart filled with love and eyes filled with tears of gratitude and a deep desire to merge into divine.... increases my longing and my calling for my dearest amma

May we all get to open our doors to the ultimate or may the doors be openned to us :)

Tumko hum dil me basa lenge on a lovely spring afternoon

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:47:00 +0000

Nature is just setting the mood ..The sky is cloudy ..might start raining anytime ...
a lovely spring afternoon...what an atmosphere specially for this ghazal.
perfect weather .. perfect timing..

Tumko hum dil me basa lenge

Tumko hum dil me basa lenge, tum aao to sahi
Saari duniya se chupa lenge tum aao to sahi

Ek waada karo ab humse na bicchadooge kabhi
Naaz hum saare utha lenge tum aao to sahi

Bewafa bhi ho sitamgar bhi jafa pesha bhi
Hum khuda tumko bana lenge tum aao to sahi

Raah taarikh hai aur door hai manzil lekin
Dard ki shamme jala lenge tum aao to sahi

struggle to survive .. Hope Floats

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Last few days have been phenomenal on its own way..

How events change the course of our lives is an amazing thing ..
we watch things happen or sometimes we take decisions or make choices which seem the best at that time but years later the same thing turn out to be a disaster.

I have been reading and listening abt layoffs and people not getting jobs and how they are affected but i closely saw something happening to somebody whom i know for last four years....their life was good back home ...what makes people uproot themselves and their kids from a stable life ... is it the greed or is it the ambition to make big ? or is it just a search of better life and where does it all stop ?

The hope to be together .. the hope to just pull on with the situation .. the hope to fight the financial crisis .. the hope to make a living in a country that is not yours ...the hope to give a better living for the kids .. make people do things ...

God knows whats enstored for them .. or for all of us ...

But Life is most of the times the struggle to survive
with the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

Seven Steps to Success in Graduate School

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 04:41:00 +0000

Though its coming too late... but its better late than never !!!

Seven Steps to Success in Graduate School (and Beyond)

Adapted from N. J. Halas

The following is a list of essential skills that all successful researchers have developed. Without these skills, you cannot expect to succeed in research. If you fully develop your abilities in each of these areas, you will lay a strong foundation for the rest of your research career that will lead directly to success in research. The responsibility for the development of these skills is entirely your own.

Your research advisor can provide guidance and assistance, but your graduate education is your personal responsibility.

This list is meant to serve as a personal barometer for you to analyze your strong and weak areas.

WORK
Develop a sense of urgency and the habit of working hard at solving problems.
THINK
Understand, explain, and interpret your results. Continually ask how far you can push and extend your idea. Be contrarian: do not blindly accept claims and conclusions, but rather question whether they are really true and whether they can be extended or applied in new contexts.
READ
Investigate your area. Learn its history and context, understand its technical foundation and background. Learn to read technical papers with a critical eye, and with the expectation of being able to duplicate and extend what is described in the article. Follow your field by reading current journals. Know who did what in your field as well as related areas.
Learn about other areas. Broaden yourself by reading articles in journals and magazines. Become familiar with other theoretical fields and application areas.
WRITE
Write concise and focussed technical papers. Write a larger and more comprehensive document (thesis). Learn how to write proposals. Learn word processing and text formatting appropriate for scientific documents.
SPEAK
Discuss your ongoing research with peers, colleagues, and visitors in an informal setting and at conferences. Learn how to make a well-organized, coherent, and engaging presentation of your research results in front of an audience. Understand the differences in speaking to a general audience versus a technical audience. Cultivate professional contacts and associations.
MANAGE
Time: Develop a sense of how long any specific task will take you to execute.
People: Develop succesful working relationships with the people you work with.
Research: Develop a research program, not just a number of disconnected projects.
C0NTEMPLATE
Anticipate where research is going in your area, both your own and of your colleagues'. Become a generator of research ideas. Learn to be able to judge when an idea is feasible and when a research direction is important or impacting. Keep track of ideas, perhaps in a research diary. Search for connections between ideas.

haan waali baat

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Kitna lagav ho gaya hai humain
aapse apki awaaz yun sunte sunte

gaar baat na kar paaye aap
aur baas apse haan waali baat hogi

haan hi sun lenge janab aapki ...
woh bhi sukun deti hai :)

iss ruh ko ...

gaar woh bhi sun ne ko nahin mili ...
to phir aaj bina awaaz sune...

jeene ki ek nayi koshish hogi ...

कितना लगाव हो गया है हमें
आपसे आपकी आवाज़ यूँ सुनते सुनते

ग़र बात न कर पाये आप
ओर ब़स होगी आपसे हाँ वाली बात

हाँ ही सुन लेंगे जनाब आपकी ...
वोह भी सुकून देती है :)

इस रूह को ...

ग़र वोह भी सुन ने को नहीं मिली ...
तो फिर आज बिना आवाज़ सुने...

जीने की एक नयी कोशिश होगी ...

happy living

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:09:00 +0000

On this journey called "LIFE'
some of us get so engrossed in things that we forget to "LIVE".

We are aware but we pretend to be unaware, we are awake but we pretend to be asleep....
and in that state how can one live ????
when someone alive pretends to be Dead.

some go on like this till the end, and some realize it at some point or are made to realize, which ever may be the way, That realization is must in order to live !!!!

"Good Life starts only when you stop wanting a better One"

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

Happy Living..!!!!!!!!!

Nice ...

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:36:00 +0000

Read this somewhere and liked it and liked it so much that Here it comes to my blog

Life is short......
Break the rules.......
Forgive quickly...........
Kiss slowly.........................
Love truly...................................
Laugh to heart's fill.........................
And never regret anything that made you smile.......

summer day memory

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:29:00 +0000

The ER visit

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:41:00 +0000

Emergency striked as as soon as in the morning, as soon as she realized that the shoulder can't be moved, the arm is in terrible pain .. it cant be lifted up

calls to health centers were made .. no appointments
then came the docs offices .. no appointments till two weeks
it takes two freaking weeks to see a doc inspite of having health insurance

what is this system ???

brought her down to tears ...
thanks to a wonderful friend who helped when it was needed the most ..

ER : emergency room is the option !
was it really a emergency ... not to the outer world but it was for the one in pain !

called up someone special and home ..shed few tears .. missed home like anything ..

It was so easy to see a doc ! who wants to live here all life ???

well few min later regretted it .. coz what can people do from so far ...

when one takes decisions to leave home they got to be responsible for themselves ..

called up again to make everything sound fine now .. don't how much that would have helped

anyways .. went to the room .. they take 4 - 5 X rays prescibe few medicines ..and send the patient home and all this takes almost 5 hrs of the day ...

dont know where its all leading ... but the trip to ER will be memorable went through the most scary roads of the st louis .. picked up the wrong hospital i guess ...

now will be one tough job to get hold of a good physician .. seems like there are no appointments till march 09 with few ...

what can a person do in such situation ..

I guess just be thankful that it wasn't so serious .. thankful that luckily have friends who stand by you and have loved ones who are with u if not physically in mind for sure ..

above all the grace of god which brings you through such situations ...

monday to monday

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:36:00 +0000

Roller coaster week, saw it all ...

from meetings to weddings to funeral

what is life all about !

life and death
celebrations and sorrows
happiness and sadness

we dont know what gonna happen the very next moment, then why do we feel so much in control, when actually we don't have control and we cannot control ....

Things happen ..............not always as we wish them to ............

what is this all about .. what are we running after and for what..

movie marathon weekend

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:32:00 +0000

saw three movies this weekend
starting with a movie which i wanted to see for long, but for some reason always missed it. Until a friend mentioned it and i watched it, got engrossed so much that finished it before i slept on friday night .. Ijjazat !!! a 1982, Nasserudin shah, Rekha and Anupama patel starrer.. a classic piece of work by Gulzaar sa'ab ..Loved the songs .. I have liked them for long ..hummed them .. sung them ...

Next was a spanish movie .. I don't understand the language, but i love the way it sounds and the movie is "Butterfly" what a piece of work, unique subject, wonderful direction and flawless acting.

The sunday was wrapped up by, The last lear .. a very theater like movie , It was a story of an actor a theatre actor ..about his passion for work ... some strong actors .. with amazing performance ....was captivating !!!

and there were more on TV.. which were watched here n there ...

Start where you stand

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 05:20:00 +0000

Start where you stand and never mind the past,
The past won’t help you in beginning new,
If you have left it all behind at last
Why, that’s enough, you’re done with it, you’re through;
This is another chapter in the book,
This is another race that you have planned,
Don’t give the vanished days a backward look,
Start where you stand.

The world won’t care about your old defeats
If you can start anew and win success,
The future is your time, and time is fleet
And there is much of work and strain and stress;
Forget the buried woes and dead despairs,
Here is a brand new trial right at hand,
The future is for him who does and dares,
Start where you stand.

Old failures will not halt, old triumphs aid,
To-day’s the thing, to-morrow soon will be;
Get in the fight and face it unafraid,
And leave the past to ancient history;
What has been, has been; yesterday is dead
And by it you are neither blessed nor banned,
Take courage, man, be brave and drive ahead,
Start where you stand.

By Berton Braley

Someone special said something that striked my heart and while thinking about it, i got a printout which was on my desk for many days may be a year and when i read it , i see this beautiful poem. Today it has a different meaning !

चाँद फिर निकला ( chaand phir nikala)

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:04:00 +0000

चाँद फीर निक्ला
और आज पूरा सफ़ेद चेहरा लीये हुये
चांदनी के साथ

Chand phir nikala
aur aaj poora safaid chehra liye huey
chandani ki saath

चलो फीर, उस चाँद की रौशनी तले
देखें हम आकाश को,
हाँ उसी पेड़ की शाखाओं के बीच से
देखें हम उन तारों को,

उस बैंच पर बैठे
एक दूसरे का हाथ थामे
ब़स रहे बैठे हम
रात भर, एक दूसरे के साथ

Scribbled by wandering soul in the mind ..
while enjoying the company of his soul
At the lakeside on a beautiful full moonlit night !!!

Live in the present

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:49:00 +0000

LIVE IN THE PRESENT :

A honeybee spends all his time, energy, and life working to store honey.
But for what reason? In the end, all that precious honey gets taken away and eaten by others!

Similarly, it is a waste if we spend all our lives planning and hoarding for the future.

Not even a second of the future is in our hands.

Therefore, live in the present. We are the present.

Leave the future in God's hands. He will look after everything.

What we are meant to undergo, we will undergo.

What we are to receive, we shall receive.

Be satisfied and happy with what you have at present.

Try, my children wholeheartedly. - amma

I read this in amma quotes two days back .. found it so perfect for me, as if it was written for me ..
I also realize that, Its not easy to always do that, human mind always plays tricks with him .. but its upto us to control that mind which wanders from past to future ... but we got to make it stick to present .. and thats why amma in the end writes try my children ...and try wholeheartedly ...

Zindagi kya hai -- koi baat chale

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:47:00 +0000

ज़िंदगी क्या है जानने के लिये
ज़िंदा रहना बहुत जरुरी है
आज तक कोई भी रहा तो नही

सारी वादी उदास बैठी है
मौसमे गुल ने खुदकशी कर ली
किसने बरुद बोया बागो मे

आओ हम सब पहन ले आइने
सारे देखेंगे अपना ही चेहरा
सारे हसीन लगेंगे यहाँ

है नही जो दिखाई देता है
आइने पर छपा हुआ चेहरा
तर्जुमा आइने का ठीक नही

हम को गलिब ने येह दुआ दी थी
तुम सलामत रहो हज़ार बरस
ये बरस तो फकत दिनो मे गया

लब तेरे मीर ने भी देखे है
पखुड़ी एक गुलाब की सी है
बात सुनते तो गलिब रो जाते

ऐसे बिखरे है रात दिन जैसे
मोतियो वाला हार टूट गया
तुमने मुझको पिरो के रखा था

Maikade

noreply@blogger.com (wandering soul) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:03:00 +0000

I had recorded few songs at one point of time and they were recored with a really low quality mike and on windows recorder.
Thanks to someone special who made me convert them from wav to mp3 format and then introduced to esnips.I just uploaded this song called maikade from Hariharan's collection ..
just a trial to see if it shows up in my blog !l

so when i click on the link .. it doesnt take me to the proper link .. i tried :( but couldn't

so i uploaded the link .. so the blue rectangular thing that u see right below the title ..
If u click that .. u get to the right place and listen to the song ..

well i will figure it out .. and that will be my next post !!!

http://www.esnips.com/doc/21456e64-d5d4-4366-a7c4-97b54dfa024e/maikade

OK ... IT has Failed ... so there is no song here !!!